Law wins round 2. The NFL has been involved in what some would call a bitter feud with companies such as Time Warner and Comcast. See, the NFL came up with this idea to start their own network called… The NFL Network (cunning). Their idea was to create another venue to showcase games and bilk, er, milk advertising dollars from sponsors. Marquee match-ups would be televised on the NFL Network toward the back half of the year. Ah, but there’s a rub. Fewer than 40% of the nation’s TV homes actually get the NFL Network because two of the biggest providers, Comcast and Time Warner, do not provide it as part of a basic package. Backtrack for a moment… the trend of putting supposedly good match-ups on non-over-the-air stations is not new. Witness the migration of Monday Night Football to ESPN.

A lot of folks started to get peeved that they could not watch the “good games”. Team owners such as the plastic surgery black hole known as Jerry Jones even took out advertisements urging fans to move to providers that coughed up the NFL Netowk for free. Pressure was pretty intense for the Dallas vs Green Bay game. But now… the Patriots are scheduled to play the Giants on Saturday night. The Patriots are taking their shot at having a perfect season. Over 60% of the viewing fan base would have been blacked out. Not to fear. Lawmakers have pressured the NFL to ensure more viewers could see the game. Last week, two prominent members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Goodell threatening to reconsider the league’s antitrust exemption. And so the game will also be simulcast on CBS and NBC so that all of America can see the game if they so desire. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who co-wrote the letter with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he was “delighted” by the NFL’s concession.

I am fairly certain that there are more important things on the Senate’s plate at the moment. That said, I already get the NFL Network on Dish.